The Democratic Alliance (DA) and civil-society organisation Accountability Now announced on Thursday plans for the creation of a new Chapter 9 institution to investigate allegations of high-level corruption.

The DA will introduce two Private Member’s Bills in an attempt to establish the envisioned ‘Anti-Corruption Commission’.

“The DA will be introducing two Private Member’s Bills – one proposing amendments to sections 181, 193 and 194 of the Constitution to establish the new Chapter 9 Institution and the other, legislation which will govern the functions, powers and composition of the Commission,” the party explained.

DA chief whip Natasha Mazzone declared that the African National Congress (ANC) is less than enthused to combat and prosecute high level corruption cases, therefore, South Africa needs a new Chapter 9 institution that will prioritise corruption cases.

She said the coronavirus pandemic had exposed wide scale corruption, State capture, and now the recent rioting and looting in KwaZulu-Natal, which had placed enormous pressure on the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) investigative capacity.

The DA stated that a new independent institution is long overdue, as the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation, better known as the Hawks, is not sufficiently independent and as the NPA is currently besieged by systemic challenges.

The party believes that the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Commission, which is envisioned to deal only with large scale grand corruption cases, will remove a large burden off the NPA, allowing it to concentrate on its core function of prosecuting crime.

“This will provide a quicker, more efficient and effective method of dealing with the type of grand scale corruption we see daily, but which cannot be dealt with effectively within current existing and overburdened structures,” the DA said.

The party envisions that the Commission will consist of a variety of Commissioners, with the Head National Commissioner being a retired judge from the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Appeals or High Court.

The DA further explained that the Anti-Corruption Commission will also be mandated to advise public and private bodies on effective measures to prevent corruption; educate the public and raise awareness on the dangers of corruption; and depending on its findings, make the necessary recommendations to the appropriate authority.

Meanwhile, DA Shadow Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Glynnis Breytenbach said the party’s intention is not to undermine any of the structures that exist in the country’s criminal justice system.

“Of course there is a lot of potential for tension and I see that but as soon as the Bills are at a point where they can be discussed with the NPA and the police, we will discuss it with them as well. It must be made clear that we not intend to run a parallel system or run a system that is in competition with them,” she explained, adding that the new Commission would support democracy as an additional resource for the criminal justice system.